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Vinny Prospal has eight goals in 22 games. It seems like a lot for a 38-year-old player — until you talk to him about it.

“I’m going to always live by the saying ‘There are never enough goals,’ ” he said. “There are never enough goals.”

The Blue Jackets forward didn’t offer that up lightly. He said it with the utmost sincerity. He feels it in every fiber of his being. His affinity for goal-scoring came up repeatedly during a five-minute interview yesterday after he had the tying goal in the Jackets’ 2-1 overtime victory over the Colorado Avalanche, and it undoubtedly will come up many more times before he is through.

That’s probably to be expected from a player whose celebrations are almost legendary, who seems to enjoy scoring goals on this last-place team as much as he did with the good teams he has played on during a 16-season NHL career. If that seems odd, the way he answered a question about it confirms it. His response came out faster than a speeding bullet.

“Yes,” he said. “ Yes. I’m not going to play forever, so this is something I try to live by: There is never enough of them, and you can see how hard it is. You don’t have too many games around the league like the (7-6) game in Montreal (on Saturday). It’s more 2-1, 3-2. … There are never enough goals, and (scoring is) always going to be great. Always.”

A conversation with the Czech forward — among his countrymen, he is tied for fourth in career points with Bobby Holik (747) — often makes you smile. He is old by hockey standards, but there always seems to be a 12-year-old inside Prospal’s body trying to get out. On a Blue Jackets team that is the youngest in the NHL, having a giddy 38-year-old in the locker room and on the ice is invaluable.

“Vinny is a real passionate guy and … he really likes to score goals,” coach Todd Richards said. “There’s a passion there, there’s a passion to play the game, there’s a passion in practice. The energy that he gives everyone else just through his passion is contagious.”

That’s the reason why former general manager Scott Howson promised Prospal a job with the organization after his playing career ends, a “gentleman’s agreement.” Prospal didn’t want to talk about that with a new regime in place.

“Let’s just talk about the game and talk about the next game,” he said. “You know how it is now. There’s a new GM here and a new president, and I’m just a player.”

He’s a good enough player to lead the team in goals and be tied for the scoring lead with 12 points; his eight goals project to 30 over an 82-game season. His value to a team that is 27th in the NHL in scoring is obvious, although the offensive ineptitude around him must be frustrating.

“Look, if you want to be philosophical here, we just had a function here for the heroes, for the kids who are lying in the hospital battling sickness,” he said. “And I get to do this for a living. I’d better enjoy this, because not everyone is as fortunate as I am to be at my age and still be playing. So when we talk about the goals, I’d better enjoy them, and I’d better enjoy every day of this.

“It’s tough at times when you lose by one goal and we don’t generate anything. It’s frustrating. But on the other hand, the sun is going to come up the next day and you go to work and you try to get better. I have a 12-year-old son at home, and he loves the game and he wants to play one day. If I come home with a negative attitude and he sees me not giving 100 or 150 percent, what am I going to teach him?”

Questions about how long Prospal might play make him uncomfortable.

“I’m only thinking about Tuesday,” the next game, against Edmonton, he said. “I just want to enjoy the moment. I have my kids and my wife here for the game, and it feels great when they’re (here) and you can score and win. It’s awesome. That’s the way I want to leave the rink. I’ll play ’til I can’t.”

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